Product description

In 2006, science-fiction enthusiast Peter Diamandis announced he would give $10 million to anyone who could build a safe, mass-producible car that travelled 100 miles on the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas. The challenge attracted more than 300 teams from all over the world, including dozens of amateurs. Many designed their cars entirely from scratch, rejecting decades of thinking about what a car should look like. This book follows four teams from the build stage to the final race and beyond.

Author information

Jason Fagone writes about science, sports, and culture. His work has appeared in "Wired," "GQ," "Men's Journal," "The New York Times Magazine," "The Atlantic," "Slate," "Esquire," "Philadelphia," and the 2011 edition of "The Best American Sports Writing." He lives outside of Philadelphia with his wife and daughter. This is his second book.

Review quote

Advance Praise for "Ingenious"
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"The real story "Ingenious" tells is about the deep strain of hope, fortified with elbow grease, in the American character. Jason Fagone is a generous, clear-eyed writer, and this is an exhilarating, beautifully engineered book."
--Benjamin Wallace, author of "The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine"
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"The most accurate term, the literary term, for Jason Fagone's new book is awesome. It's also fabulous, in both senses of the word, for the cars and creators of "Ingenious "work in grand and fantastical realms of the imagination. Only for the time being, though. Read this splendidly wrought book now for that rarest of views, a genuinely hopeful glimpse of things to come."
--Jeff Sharlet, author of "Sweet Heaven When I Die" and "The Family"
"Just when you thought America's can-doism is in decline, along comes Jason Fagone's "Ingenious," proving the tinker-bench spirit is still alive and well. Jumping between Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania, this book is a love song to our great country."
--Douglas Brinkley, author of "Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress"
"Precious few books have ever captured the soul of human creativity as perfectly as Jason Fagone's "Ingenious." This beautifully rendered tale of engineering wizardry, set amid a mad scramble for fame and fortune, is a testament to both America's vast promise and our species' knack for perseverance. If you have ever dreamed of building something--or simply dreamed at all--this is a book you cannot miss."
--Brendan I. Koerner, author of "The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking"
"Wow, what an adventure. It's the spellbinding tale of a race between rich dreamers and barnyard tinkerers and inner-city teenagers who are all out to create a car that could change the world and win a fortune. I love "Ingenious" because